"In 1994, the first democratic elections ever were held in South Africa. New President Nelson Mandela was faced with the enormous task of reinventing South Africa as a democracy and delivering to an impatient electorate the economic and social change he had promised." "Coming to Terms is a consideration of a country's attempt to put a troubled history behind it and reach a new stage of development. Martin Meredith takes an unprecedented look at the moral and political issues that shaped the Truth Commission, at the effect of the commission's hearings on a fragile democracy, and at the surprising and often horrifying information the commission hearings unearthed, both about particular crimes and about the nature and structure of apartheid." "The only book to offer a complete and even-handed account of the work and the moral issues raised by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Coming to Terms is essential reading for anyone interested in South Africa, human rights, or the evolution of democracy."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes index.

1. The Widows' Testimony 2. Reconstructing the Past 3. Vlakplaas 4. Prime Evil 5. Chains of Command 6. Room 619 7. Operation Marion 8. In Police Custody 9. Foreign Ventures

10. Race Poison 11. The Security Establishment 12. The Tale of Two Presidents 13. In the Name of Liberation 14. The Trial of Winnie Mandela 15. Operation Great Storm 16. Findings 17. In the Fullness of Time Afterword: Confronting the Painful Past / Tina Rosenberg.